State v. Cherry
Ohio Court of Appeals
2002-Ohio-3738 (2002)
- Written by Sharon Feldman, JD
Facts
Elliott Cherry (defendant) was alone with his 18-month-old daughter and his girlfriend’s 13-month-old son, Elijah. Cherry reported to 911 that Elijah had fallen down stairs and stopped breathing. Elijah died. The coroner determined that Elijah’s injuries were caused by a blunt-force trauma to the abdomen. Cherry was convicted of child endangering and murder with the predicate offense of child endangering. On appeal, Cherry argued that Ohio’s felony-murder statute was unconstitutional because it did not require that the underlying felony be independent from the conduct that kills, it relieved the state of having to prove the defendant purposely took the victim’s life, and felony murder and involuntary manslaughter prohibited identical activity but carried different punishments.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Whitmore, J.)
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